


In Your Dreams

by hachikun



Category: Splatoon, Splatoon Manga - Fandom, coroika - Fandom
Genre: Awkward Dates, Childhood Friends, Crushes, M/M, childhood crush
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-11-21
Updated: 2018-11-21
Packaged: 2019-08-27 06:34:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,817
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16697272
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hachikun/pseuds/hachikun
Summary: Goggles and Prince had been best friends as teenagers, to the point that they told each other everything. Except for this one kind of big thing. Goggles' awkward childhood crush on his best friend's ice cold older brother that he thought he'd successfully buried for years just for it to be thrown back in his face all over again.





	1. Chapter 1

Something about today didn’t feel particularly out of the ordinary. Then again, Goggles couldn’t really recall a time that any day felt special compared to the next. Aside from when they were designated that way, like a holiday or a party or something similar. Special days to him were days he actually had plans, splatfests, matches, anything like that. Not days like today where he was just wandering through one of the many open market streets of Inkopolis in the middle of the afternoon.

As he comes to a stop in front of a clothing stand, briefly running his hand over a particularly soft looking jacket, he remembers how he wore similar clothing as a teenager when he regularly participated in matches still. Now that he was 20 and looking for a job he mostly only played in the older leagues during splatfests with his friends. It’s not like he could give up on turf so easily. Not when it was how he met most of his friends, including his best friend, Prince. 

Prince was actually the reason he was at the market today in the first place. Among the crowd and hushed ambient chatter that surrounded him, Goggles was currently trying to find something to pick up on his way to his best friend’s dorm. Something as in food, and not clothing, like what was being sold at the booth that he had totally gotten himself sidetracked at while absent mindedly thinking about turf. Again. For probably the thirtieth time that day.

With a fond sigh he leaves it, looking back out into the busy squid marketplace and attempting to track down a street food cart. Prince had exams coming up and he thought that surprising him with comfort food would help out, if just a little. The two of them hung out pretty regularly and had been ever since they were younger teenagers when they met during a tournament nearly six years ago now. 

Goggles briefly pulls his phone out of his hoodie pocket, checking the time and being filled with a new sense of hurry before stuffing it back in. He picks up his pace and starts to shuffle through the crowds that were still inhabiting the alley way market, his ears perking once he finally spots a fry cart at the end of the street. And he makes it nearly there, before he hears a faintly familiar voice.

“Goggles?”

He freezes, wondering for a second where the hell he recognized the deep voice from. It sounded so familiar and yet, different somehow. Older? Deeper? Maybe not that much deeper.

“...Emperor?” Holy shit. Goggles stops dead in his tracks as he looks up at him. The familiar golden-yellow, intimidating eyes, douche bag aura… Yeah that was definitely him. Though it seems these days he sticks to less gaudy outfits, the white leather jacket still looking on-brand for him. Though it definitely didn’t help the douche bag aura.

He seemed to be in shock, too, as the other squid stood there in silence for a moment looking Goggles over. He seemed… Impressed? Maybe because the last time Goggles had even seen Emperor was nearly two years ago now, when he had helped Prince move out of their estate and into his college. “Goggles… It’s been awhile.”

“Hah, yeah, you can say that again!” This was pretty surreal. He had a lot of… Awkward history with Emperor. Awkward history that he didn’t exactly try to remember often. Especially considering it was all one sided in the form of a childhood crush that he’d harbored in secret for his best friend’s brother ever since they were all teenagers. A childhood crush that he had absolutely never acted on, out of respect towards Prince and also their age gap. Emperor had to be 23 by now. Ouch. “It’s cool to see you! What have you been up to?”

Silence. Again. The way that Emperor’s eyes kept wandering over him was definitely weird. Like he was trying to figure something out about him and Goggles had no idea what that something was. It was almost like he was judging him, but not in the way Emperor usually did towards other inklings. This felt just straight up weird.

“Not much. Were you busy?” Goggles tilts his head a little at that. Emperor never really was much for words.

“Oh, I uh, was actually looking for food to pick up for Prince!” Something about the mention of his brother’s name definitely got his attention, as Emperor’s eyes lit up just a little before taking another wander over him. Definitely still weird. “I’m visiting him soon, you know, at his dorm…”

“I see.” The way the older squid spoke always put Goggles on edge. Like he was thinking way more than he was saying and you’d never know it. “Well, I won’t keep you long. I know we haven’t seen each other in awhile, but what would you say to meeting up and getting drinks together?”

Woah. Goggles just blinks at that, staring up at Emperor with genuine confusion. In all the years he’s known him Emperor has never tried to hang out. Not one on one, at least. Sure he had done a few things with him when he came over to hang out with Prince as kids but. They had never done anything together alone. 

“With Prince?”

“No, just you.”

Okay, weird. Now he was even more confused. He must have looked visibly confused, because he could hear the other squid snort before pushing his hands in the pockets of his jacket.

“Here.” Emperor pulls his own phone out, definitely an expensive model as always, and taps at it for a moment before turning it around and holding it out for Goggles. He looks down at the screen, staring at the add contact information boxes before responding.

“You want my phone number?” 

“Yes, Goggles, hurry up.” This was definitely Emperor, right here in the flesh. Blunt as always. However Goggles does tap his information in, then looking back up at him once he’s done. “I’ll text you later, but you should meet me at the coffee shop near the plaza. Tomorrow.”

“...Okay?” He can only say so much here. What the hell was happening. Did they have a date now? Surely this couldn’t be a date, he was just projecting, right? It had been years since he’d seen Emperor and even more years since his awkward teenager crush. A teenager crush that he didn’t like to acknowledge or talk about and hoped that neither Emperor nor Prince knew about it. In fact he’d been trying to bury it as deep as inkling possible to deny it ever even happened. Either way he isn’t sure how much of this he can tell to Prince later… “Um, yeah, Let me know what time!”

“Good. See you later, Goggles.” As Emperor walks past him he briefly brings a hand up to ruffle through the ends of his tentacles, something he hasn’t done to him in nearly four years. He couldn’t even respond, turning as Emperor walked off into the crowd after getting his phone number and setting up some sort of meet up tomorrow. After years of swearing he’d never feel anything towards his best friend’s older brother any more, here he was, walking back into Goggles’ life like absolutely nothing and getting his phone number. Everything felt so surreal. What was he going to tell Prince...

Today really wasn’t a normal day.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry for short chapters! ill try to make them longer eventually ;v;

“So he asked you for your phone number?”

“Well he didn’t really ask, he kinda shoved his phone in my hands-”

“He doesn’t even text me back most of the time!”

Goggles had arrived at the dorms just in time for Prince to be putting away a few groceries in the kitchen. Fortunately his run in with his friend’s older brother had bought him just enough time for him to come home, otherwise he’d be stuck outside the locked door waiting for him. Currently the yellow squid was flitting around his kitchen and packing away his food, talking to Goggles across the room as he leaned himself against the arm of his couch.

“...Do you text him a lot?” Blue-teams notorious idiot peers over the back of the couch towards the kitchen, watching Prince set aside a loaf of bread. 

“Do you think I text him too often?” Prince idly looked around his kitchen as the two of them talked, rearranging things on the counter here and there. Goggles swore he got his neat freak tendencies from living with Emperor for so long.

“Wellll, I’m just saying-” He tilts his head, bringing himself up on his knees on the couch to cross his arms over the back of it as he spoke. “You know Emperor’s one of those guys. He just doesn’t like talking much…”

Prince blinks over at him at that comment, putting away the last of his grocery bags. “Since when do you know my own brother better than me, Goggles?” he laughs a little at that, crossing the shared living room space to settle himself down on the other end of the couch.

“I don’t! I just know he can um. Be kind of a jerk.” The blue inkling plops himself back down, allowing himself to lounge out on the couch and lean against its arm. He had no issue making himself at home in Prince’s dorm, in fact he was over pretty often. The two of them hung out almost every other day at this point. Even if they didn’t both attend this school.

“Ha, no, you’re right.” Prince always seemed a little sheepish when they talked about his brother. Probably because Emperor was the only real authority figure he’d ever had in his life. Their parents had been pretty absent, leaving the older of the two to call the shots and take on a lot of responsibility at a young age. Goggles wouldn’t doubt if that’s why he was so up tight and intimidating now.

“Maybe he just wants to stay in touch with me since I hang out with you all the time.” Goggles couldn’t lie, he’d been checking his phone about every hour now since the encounter. Sure, it had only been three hours, but he was impatient and nervous and had no idea why Emperor had taken his phone number in the first place. So far he’d heard nothing.

“Hmph.” Prince crosses his arms at that, resting back on the couch as whatever turf match that day droned on in the background. “If he really cared about that he could have just asked me about it…” Goggles supposed that was true. The two of them had always been close as brothers, even with Emperor’s nature to make everyone think he didn’t care about anything. Prince was always the exception. 

“I guess we’ll just have to wait and see what he’s up to…”


End file.
